Episode 10: Belief and Redemption in the Information Age

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. The great bible scholar St Jerome spoke Latin and Greek and Hebrew. In the 4th Century it was exceptional for a Christian to study Hebrew, almost unheard of. Fluent Hebrew gave St Jerome access to the original bible texts that was unique for the time. Not until centuries later, with the Renaissance, did scholars start taking an interest in Hebrew. Like other great bible scholars, most notably Martin Luther, Jerome translated from Hebrew to his vernacular and as a Roman that was Latin. Jerome’s bible became known as the vulgate, it was the “bible of the people.” For centuries it was the Bible Latin Christianity read from. Today, we have access to several centuries of research, Hebrew to Latin dictionaries and grammars, and linguistic studies has entered a new era as we have software specifically designed for students of the bible that provide grammatical analysis and philological analysis. Contemporary students, translators of the bible are privileged to have access to these resources. What is so admirable about Jerome is that he acquired his Hebrew and completed the translations without this body of knowledge or the technology. He had access to Jewish scholars; yes, scholars because even in the Jewish community Hebrew was not generally spoken. It was for scholars; it was a language of learning and he paid for their services as teachers. Fr Michael Kellyinterviews Fr. Dominik Markl SJ a bible scholar with a deep admiration for what St Jerome accomplished. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 is also available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alexfor La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. In 2018  the People of God in Australia began preparing for their first Plenary Council since the Second Vatican Council. After delays due to the pandemic, the Australian Catholic Church gathered for the first Assembly of this Plenary Council in Adelaide, October 2021. A second assembly will be held in June 2022. “It's the first time really, the first time, in Australian church history that there has ever been an effort to listen to anybody else but official voices. And that means those participating have to learn a whole lot of new skills and aptitudes to be able to make the thing work,” La Civilta Cattolica, English publisher Fr Michael Kelly says. In this podcast, Fr Kelly interviews Geraldine Doogue, one of Australia’s most respected journalists, about the Council and its processes. Geraldine works for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation presenting Saturday Extra for ABC Radio National and Compass for ABC TV. She is one of the most experienced people in Australian media. An informed and searching Catholic, she has followed the recent, landmark Australian Plenary Council meetings to understand the way these have and will contribute to the growth of the Church she loves. “There are groups trying to derail this but I think there's a broad bulk of middlebrow Catholics who are members, who are determined that it be a genuine process,” Doogue says. But with such opposition could that process be a Pandora’s Box? “Episodic and systematic, and you might be inclined to say, ‘oh, dear, how mediocre’. But by the same token, that process… is forcing people to talk to each other,” Doogue believes. Together, Michael and Geraldine follow the evolution of the Synodal approach in Australia. “Most of the effective work of the Australian church is done through ministries, schools, hospitals, welfare institutions, which are run by lay people. So that's only going to get more so and become much more significant as time unfolds,” Kelly says. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. Fr Michael Kelly in conversation with Fr You Guo Jiang, SJ a teacher at Boston College who researches and writes on education, global engagement, student development, spirituality and Christianity in China. This includes biographical articles on prominent Chinese Christians such as Ma Xiangbo, founder of Fudan University, Shanghai and the famous jurist, Wu Ching Hsiung who helped draft China’s first constitution. This conversation reveals the contours and the shape of Chinese engagement with Christianity. We hear about the themes and topics of Jiang’s research and the central message of this body of work. “The role of Jesuit education, or any education, is not just to teach you a skill or give you a degree or diploma but to form the whole person. In that way we combine the science, technology and the humanities for personal formation” This podcast conversation explains how these concepts are received, especially if they are expressed in Chinese by and for Chinese. “Visiting China and meeting with students and parents I try to promote this idea: what kind of person or citizen do you want to be. How can you make a difference?” Jiang wants young people to consider: “What sort of impact you will have on the world – will you help create a harmonious society, with love justice and concern for your neighbors, people less advantaged or marginalized?” “Education is not just about status, ranking. How do we make education an instrument to make the world a better place?” he tells us. Western Christians have often not understood China and the Chinese, and attempting to engage often imposed their own culture on their understanding of how Christianity is to be accepted “Throughout China and Asia we often hear this term inculturation. East and West must sit down and dialogue, communicate and negotiate…. We need to build a global society where everyone feels they are part of a big family” East and West, religions, people, groups, politicians must seek mutual understand: “We need open, peaceful and transparent dialogue” Listen as two Jesuits, one Eastern, one Western engage with respect and an understanding of the other’s heritage. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Image Courtesy: Sam Zhai / The Heights Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. We live in the Information Age, an age that is – more than ever - full of information. This is due in large part to the Internet and Social Media platforms that have changed the way people everywhere communicate news and information. It allows anyone and everyone to become news makers if they wish. This is especially important to the Catholic Church because it is a conduit of information, which we believers hold to be eternally significant for our redemption. That’s what Fr Michael Kelly, publisher of La Civiltà Cattolica, English edition, and Fr. Paul Soukup, professor at the Jesuits’ Santa Clara University in California USA, explore in this podcast. Fr. Soukup has been observing and commenting on these changes to the media ecology: the technologies, the people in a historical context. Of special interest to him is the way these new media have altered the playing field for the Church and that, among other things, is what he focuses on in this interview. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Background Music by Andre Louis, Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. In this episode, Michael Kelly, SJ interviews Fr Brian O’Leary, Emeritus Professor of Spiritual Theology at the Milltown Institute in Dublin. The 16th century in Spain was a turning point for the whole world. The New World was gradually being discovered by European explorers and traders, the Renaissance reached its peak, and it gave us three of the greatest mystics of the Christian tradition, people whose writings on the spiritual life have for centuries guided those seeking a greater union with God. St Theresa of Avila and St John of the Cross were both Carmelites. The third was St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits and a person of exceptional mystical experiences. The difference between Ignatius and the Carmelites is that Ignatius’ spirituality is transferable to ordinary, daily living. How do we find in our lives the intimacy of the engagement with God, in the ordinary and every day that is the hallmark of Ignatian spirituality? A spirituality that is just as Trinitarian, as it is mystical, just as wonderful as it is also down-to-earth. That’s what Fr Michael Kelly, publisher of La Civiltà Cattolica, English edition, and Fr Brian O’Leary, Emeritus Professor of Spiritual Theology at the Milltown Institute in Dublin, explore in this podcast. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

In our world Church today, there are two conversations at a national level about how a national Synod should occur. One is in Germany and one is in Australia. We want to address developments in both Churches. Firstly, to update you on the one in Australia - which of course has a local flavor but echoes issues and concerns that are universal – we have invited some key participants in the preparation for this “Plenary Council” to share experiences thus far: Lana Turvey-Collins offers her view from the perspective as a key facilitator of discussions leading to and then conducted during the Plenary Council. Patty Fawkner, leader of an Australian founded but now multinational religious congregation – the Benedictine inspired Sisters of the Good Samaritan, She is an adult educator, with tertiary qualifications in arts, education, theology and spirituality. Frank Brennan is a Jesuit priest and Rector of Newman College in Melbourne and a leading commentator on Church and social and political issues. Michael Kelly is the publisher of the English language edition of the Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica There seems little doubt that these conversations are only the first two of what will become dozens and dozens of conversations seeking to clarify what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. The conversation in Germany has become quite complicated since Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich announced that he had submitted his resignation to the Pope on May 21. Of course, Pope Francis can decline the offer of the resignation. Cardinal Marx has been one of Pope Francis’ most forceful supporters and an advocate of the Synodal approach proposed by Pope Francis. The declared reason for the resignation of Cardinal Marx is that his own position in Germany is untenable because of his membership of a leadership of the Church in his country that has badly mismanaged cases of sex abuse by the clergy. How that all plays out and what impact it will have on the national Synod are matters of speculation at this point. But what it clearly underlines is that Synods, Church governance and the Church’s mission and purpose are about a lot more than its leaders, however accomplished and distinguished. It is not as though this is the first time the Church has ever had to manage such an invitation. Church Councils are the most obvious examples of moments in the Church’s life when the community of believers is invited to fall silent and listen to what God might be asking of it. But there can be various realities that discourage Catholics from participating in processes and conversations about these matters that could be transformative for the Church.

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. In this episode, Michael Kelly, SJ interviews American public health specialist Fr. Michel Rozier, a Jesuit from St. Louis Mo. The COVID pandemic is a global phenomenon so flexible and inventive that it easily gets a long way ahead of attempts to contain and suppress it. Add to the dexterity and versatility of the virus all the variety of places it reaches and all the mutations that can happen across the world, then it won’t come as a surprise that developing a comprehensive understanding and approach to this virus is not a one-dimensional process. This discussion covers Covid-19 virus, particularly in its Delta variant - what we need to do about it - where it will take us and how we can expect to end up after it has had its way with us - also some of the lessons learned such as government responses, both high tech (contact tracing) low-tech (masking and distancing) - communicating with diverse groups in a single population to create a shared purpose and common goals – and discover some of the more successful governments.   Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast. In this episode, Michael Kelly, SJ interviews Archbishop Dr Felix Machado of Vasai. It does not take us very long in our human journey to discover something very simple: most people aren’t like us. And, of course, that also that realization occurs us  when it comes to our basic beliefs and convictions about what is important, what is valuable. We don’t have a lot of consensus about that. So, often what we do is cover over the areas of difference and never really investigate them. The same is true when it comes to religion. We can  be presented with people who have a completely different sense of God, life, the world, religion. And often, because we feel overwhelmed by it, we don’t want to go into it in any great detail. It has become a major pre-occupation for the Catholic Church, to work out how we are different, how we carry on with our differences with other human beings. So we have a whole enterprise called inter-religious dialogue and  inter-religious relations. It is a big thing for the Catholic Church in Asia, and in many other parts of the world. But most especially in Asia because Asia is the home of all the great religions. Here Archbishop Felix Machado who is head of the committee responsible for fostering intelligent, effective and significant engagement between religions for the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences talks to Michael Kelly, SJ. Archbishop Dr Felix Machado of Vasai is  Secretary General of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and has served as Chairperson of the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and the Desk for Ecumenism (CBCI), as well as Chairperson of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (OEIA) of Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). He is currently a bishop member of the Pontifical Council for Inter Religious Dialogue and previously served as under-secretary of the PCID Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171-year-old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart from English. Image Courtesy: Archdiocese of Vasai Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast.  In this episode, Michael Kelly, SJ interviews Pedro Walpole SJ to discover the beauty of Laudato Si’ and understand key issues we must attend to for the preservation of the environment. “Laudato Si',” or “Praise Be to You” is the ground-breaking encyclical of Pope Francis that addresses the ecological crisis facing the world in the 21st Century. It has put the Pope and the Catholic Church’s tradition of social teachings at the center of the international debate on climate change.  Pedro Walpole SJ is Irishman who came to the Philippines as a forester, joined the Jesuits working on environmental programs and issues in the Philippines, elsewhere in Asia and across the world since the 1980s. Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171 year old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and also available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Image Courtesy: Jesuits Global Anchored by Robert Barber and produced by Binu Alex for La Civiltà Cattolica

Welcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast series on synodality, presented by Father Michael Kelly, SJ. Michael interviews Cardinal Michael F. Czerny SJ, a Czech-born Canadian who served as one of two Special Secretaries for the Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazon region, held in Rome October 2019. Cardinal Czerny describes just what a Synod is, how it works, what the Pope means by it as a system of governance, and discusses just where synodality might take the Church. Cardinal Czerny has served as Under-secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Holy See's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development since 2017 Michael Kelly, SJ is the publisher of the English language edition of the 171 year old Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, published in English since 2017 and also available in Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.